Monday, October 09, 2017

A British Army armoured infantry brigade faces disbandment...they're on the verge of being irrelevant...

via Times.co.uk

One of the British Army’s armoured infantry brigades is set to be disbanded and hundreds of its fighting vehicles scrapped as part of a cost-cutting defence review, Whitehall sources claimed last night.

Army chiefs had been planning to spend £1.3bn refurbishing up to 380 Warrior armoured vehicles.

The Warrior, which can hold six infantry troops and has a 30mm gun, was expected to form the backbone of the two armoured infantry brigades that were planned as part of a reorganization of the army. Under the plan the three existing armoured brigades would be reshaped into two, plus two strike brigades.

Defence sources have revealed, however, that the Ministry of Defence could axe or dramatically scale back the project to upgrade the Warriors, leaving just one armoured brigade and the strike brigades.

The Warrior upgrade is being run by the US defence giant Lockheed Martin but has been hit by cost overruns and technical problems, making it vulnerable to cuts, according to army insiders.

“The Warrior manufacturing phase has not been signed off so we would not face penalties from the contractors if it was cancelled,” one officer said.

General Sir Nick Carter, the head of the army, is said to be considering sacrificing one of the planned armoured brigades in an effort to balance the books. Army planners have to find more than £400m in cuts annually over the next three years.

Britain’s military and counter-terrorism capability is being reviewed amid claims that plans to buy warships, jet fighters and submarines will be underfunded by more than £20bn over 10 years.Last week it emerged the navy could see its two amphibious assault ships, HMS Bulwark and HMS Albion, taken out of service, stripping the Royal Marines of the ability to attack beaches.

Nicholas Drummond, a former army officer, warned that axeing a brigade would be a “disaster”.

The MoD said: “No decisions have yet been made and at this stage any discussion of the options is pure speculation.”

Well the inevitable is happening. You know what I blame for destroying the Brit military budget but I'll beat up on the F-35 later.

What is stunning is that a once powerful force is well on its way to be a laughing stock. The Brits once prided themselves of "punching above their weight". Those days are over. The Brits are on the verge of being militarily irrelevant.